I recently came across this post about rappers who found religion. It made me wonder about how people encounter religion.
- Do we find religion?
- Does religion find us?
- Are our religious beliefs chosen for us by our parents or our culture?
- Even if we reject the religion we grew up with, doesn’t that shape the religion we eventually choose or don’t choose?
- If we were not raised religious, is there a cultural Christianity that citizens of the United States always have to contend with? In God We Trust is inscribed on our money.
Finally, I wonder about the role hip hop plays in how we find religion. How does rap music, for example, help people understand religion?
In chapter six of the book “The Rap and Rap and Religion” I surveyed 175 hip hop fans about their personal interpretations of rap and religion. Of course, you have to get the book to see the results but I’ll tell you this: they definitely surprised me.